Be cautious about technology overload

People have been slaves to technology ever since the invention of the wheel, but now technology holds us in its grasp in ways that are changing our minds, bodies and societies.

When you have an Internet connection on your computer, tablet or mobile phone, you don’t have to know anything, because no matter what information you need, there’s an app or website for it. You have instant access to driving directions, weather conditions, news and sports scores. You can trade stocks and pay bills on your phone, and monitor your exercise with a fitness band.

You also can communicate in ways no one could have imagined a generation ago. E-mail, texting and social networks have expanded our ability to reach out to family, friends and colleagues.

All these are examples of technology that assists us, but, as in “Star Wars,” there’s a dark side to this force. The Internet has rendered liberal arts education obsolete — why learn about history, geography and art when Wikipedia is just a click away? Texting and Twitter have reduced the art of writing to digital grunts. And don’t get me started on how spelling and grammar checkers have eroded even the underpinnings of language.

But wait, there’s more. Before television and video games, overweight people were anomalies. But couch-based entertainment and TV ads for fast food — along with technology that enables McDonald’s and its ilk to serve up burgers, tacos and pizza like a pitching machine throwing batting practice — have ushered in the age of obesity.

Moreover, the same technology that lets people communicate also can come between them. How many times have you seen two people together at a cafe — one or both of them using a phone? Or a group of kids standing around playing with their phones instead of with each other?

And consider how Twitter and social networks have shanghaied politics. The news cycle has been compressed from 24 hours to just minutes — long enough for a politician to put his foot in his mouth, but not enough time to take it back out.

How should we navigate this brave new world of technology, without losing part of ourselves to it? My advice is to take a selfish approach: Ask yourself whether an online activity will enhance your life, or just turn you into a high-tech sheep. And, above all, remember Aristotle’s admonition: moderation in all things.

Q: I understand the need for a new area code in San Francisco and Marin County, since they’re running out of phone numbers for 415, but why not just create a new area code for Marin and let us San Franciscans keep our 415 numbers? That way, we wouldn’t have to dial 10 digits to call our neighbors down the street.

A: What you’ve advocated is called an area code split, which divides the geographical area served by an area code into two or more parts. One part gets to keep the existing area code, while the others get new ones. That’s what happened when the 650 (Peninsula) and 510 (East Bay) area codes were split off the 415 area code (which originally covered most of central California).

The problem with split plans is that hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people have to change their phone numbers. That means also changing stationery, signs and other advertising.

In recent years, split plans have given way to more popular area code overlays, like the one that was just implemented for 415. Everyone gets to keep their 415 number, while new lines in the area will get the 628 area code. Yes, you now must dial 10 digits, but you can mitigate the situation by updating the contacts and speed-dial lists in your phones.

Tax Time, Part Two: Last week, I advised against using TurboTax Online until new security measures by Intuit could staunch the rash of fraudulent e-filings involving TurboTax that were reported in several states. Intuit subsequently issued a press release implying that the fraud was the result of phishing schemes that fooled people into divulging the log-in information for their TurboTax Online accounts — giving hackers access to previous-year tax returns stored on Intuit’s servers.

Let’s hope that the “multifactor authentication” that Intuit says it has put in place can drastically reduce phishing success rates and make TurboTax accounts more secure. In the meantime, you can use TurboTax software purchased on a disc — and e-file your return — without worry, because the software stores your tax return on your computer, not online.

David Einstein is a freelance writer specializing in business and technology. He was a San Francisco Chronicle business reporter from 1989 to 1999 and has written a weekly consumer technology column for the paper since 1997. He also has held writing and editing positions with the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Forbes.com.